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EDITORIAL: Progress in Roosevelt turnaround

Gary's school superintendent and EdisonLearning's president and CEO have jointly recommended a collaborative plan to work together — and with the Indiana Department of Education — to transform Roosevelt College and Career Academy. This deserves notice throughout Northwest Indiana.

At the Indiana State Board of Education public hearing March 23 at the high school, residents had the opportunity to comment about the school's future and how to improve students' academic performance.

Student Princess Tucker told the board that before EdisonLearning took over management of the school, she used to get into a lot of fights. She has since learned to become a better person. "I went from fighting every day to making As and Bs. I'm the valedictorian," she said.

EdisonLearning was hired in 2011 to serve as a turnaround specialist at the school after Roosevelt was rated as a failing school six straight years. It was one of the first schools taken over by the state under Indiana's school accountability law.

After initial tussles between Gary Community School Corp., which previously operated the school and remains its landlord, and EdisonLearning, we're heartened to see improvements.

EdisonLearning President and CEO Thom Jackson said when his company began operating the school in 2011, 75 percent of students didn't read at their appropriate grade level, and 87 percent were below their grade level in mathematics proficiency.

In the last two years, he said, student achievement has improved 26 percent in math and 12 percent in English.

Roosevelt faces the same challenges as other schools in Gary. Its attendance rate is a dismal 65 percent, and there are more than 100 disciplinary and truancy cases a month. The building is in poor shape, too, including ancient heating and cooling systems and restrooms in disrepair.

Now that EdisonLearning has made significant progress, it's time to evaluate the process and plan the future for that school.

The school transformation zone plan presented to the state board is a good start. Just to see the stakeholders working together is a refreshing sight, but we're eager to see more progress.

We're also eager to see how this model can be applied elsewhere.

Working together sends a strong message to students and parents.

Northwest Indiana has the resources to provide excellent educational opportunities to every student if we can just agree to work collaboratively together for their benefit.